[mythtv-users] "small" mATX case that can still hold a full PCIcard?

[David Kubicek]

On 02/27/2010 03:19 PM, Mike Perkins wrote:
> David Kubicek wrote:
>>
>> Next time (soon), I'm going for a split FE/BE config. No doubt about
>> it. BE is going to be in the attic - nice and close to the sat
>> multiswitch (no limitation on number of cards, no new cables in wall
>> required), the only thing I need to drag up there is an Ethernet
>> cable, which I have to anyway (for WIFI, the ADSL backup). I'll
>> probably hide smartcard readers with the BE too. I haven't needed to
>> touch them since installation.
>>
> If you're really planning to put your BE in the attic, consider
> carefully the temperature range you may be subjecting the components to.
> If you're referring to an attic *room* you may be okay, although from
> past experience even an attic room can have temperature extremes much
> greater than that in the rest of your house.
>
> If you're talking about the attic itself, temperatures can become very
> extreme in summer and winter. So much so that I am limited in the kinds
> of things I can store in mine - no plastics, for example. There's also
> wildlife to consider - spiders love the insides of electrical gear :)
>
> It's still doable, of course, but you're probably not going to be able
> to run standard consumer gear unless you build it into a proper enclosure.
>

You're right, it's a regular attic and the temperatures in summer are 
rather high. I've been checking winter temperatures for the past couple 
of months are they were OK (and it was a tough winter this one). So I'll 
just have to make sure it's adequately cooled. Since noise doesn't 
concern me, I'll invest in a good case and a CPU/HDD cooling system. 
Mind you, PC's are quite capable running in unfavourable env. 
conditions, but it's certainly something I'll have to think about.

I found a good DDR3 Core Quad capable 5xPCI motherboard and five tuners 
should take care of the whole house nicely (2 or 3 FE's). Now I'm 
shopping for 3 Phoenix readers, because my current card server (IPBox 
aka Cuberevo) is way too unstable.

I still have to sort out the cooling and more importantly remote 
reboots. Linux can reboot automatically in case of panic, but many 
freezes aren't caused by a "clean" panic.

Do you have any suggestions for good cooling and HW watchdogs or similar 
sort of thing?

-- 
David Kubicek